On January 6th, 2020, Yeda Research and Development Co. Ltd., the commercial arm of the
Weizmann Institute of Science, and Deerfield Management Company, a healthcare investment firm,
announced the development of an extensive translational research initiative. Deerfield will
provide up to $130 million of initial funding to support the initiative over 10 years through
a newly launched company, Orchard Innovations, LLC., a private company wholly owned by affiliates
of Deerfield. Orchard Innovations, LLC. will support R&D projects out of the Weizmann Institute
of Science through various stages of drug exploration and advancement.
Accepted projects will
include a development plan aimed at achieving Investigational New Drug (IND) readiness.
Deerfield will provide funding and development support for accepted projects, and promising
projects that achieve IND-enabled status may be eligible for additional backing from Deerfield.
Deerfield is an investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. For more information, please visit www.deerfield.com.
Yeda Research and Development Company Ltd. is the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Yeda currently manages approximately 500 unique patent families and has generated the highest income per researcher compared to any other academic technology transfer operation worldwide. Through the years, Yeda has contributed the commercialization of a number of groundbreaking therapies, such as Copaxone, Rebif, Tookad®, Erbitux®, Vectibix®, Protrazza®, Humira®, and recently the CAR-T cancer therapy Yescarta®.
The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to scientists, students, technicians and supporting staff. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment.
